YES!! WE ARE HOME!!!!!............

And I'm sorry it has taken me so long to post!  We arrived home on the 10th and life has certainly been busy........challenging........and full!  We thought we were prepared for this but I have come to the conclusion that nothing prepares you for life with a 5 year old who has lived in an orphanage and is basically a stranger.  Nola is a survivor and I'm so glad to say that.  Because of her survival skills, she has learned to do for herself when many times no one else would.  Now, to plop that little strong willed girl into the middle of a fully functioning family was almost more than she could deal with at first.  We've had lots of tears and several screaming fits but every day seems to be getting better.  She's learning more about us and we're learning more about her and I know together we're slowly starting to meld together.  Her fears have been enormous as well as her anger and her frustration but in two weeks time she has come a long way in her trust in us and her comfort level in being in a new strange place. 
She was terrified of the dog when she first came home but he is now her new best friend!  He happens to be enjoying some quiet time right now laying beside me on the floor while Mark is outside with the girls in the pool.
I am exhausted every night when I fall into bed but I'm beginning to feel more confident in my ability to love her through her fears and her challenging tests of my love.  I pray every night for patience and I know those prayers are answered.  She's home!!  God knew from the start that she was our daughter and she's here with us now where she belongs.   She is an absolute ball of fire when it comes to energy.  She has a smile that will melt your heart and a laugh that is contagious!  She loves to sing and she really loves to dance and bath time is generally her favorite time of the day.  She has a baby doll that she cares for like a little mommy and she loves taking pictures of anything and everything! 
She is home!!  There are times when I look at her and I still can't believe it but it's true!  Thank God, she's home!!

Nola with her baby Lulu!

 

Bath time........all smiles!

  

 

So sorry the pool days are soon coming to an end because we dearly love them!

 

The top photo is my brother Jay's home coming gift for us.  The best things in life truly are worth waiting for!! 

We're Coming Home At Last!

Well, I have neglected to post a few important updates.  We received Nola's new birth certificate just the following day after submitting to RENAP.  That was record time!  And now......we are in Guatemala!  We arrived Wednesday August 7 and hit the ground running.  Our lawyer wasn't able to get the passport because there was a problem in one of the documents.  Mark's middle name and last name were inverted so they wouldn't issue the passport to the lawyer.  We had to do it in person but only after we went to the hogar and picked up Nola and had a very short Good Bye time with all of the staff and kids.  After getting the passport, off we ran to the Dr's office to have her final medical exam.  Nola was a bit worried about getting shots but she did fantastic!  The Dr did us a favor by scheduling her TB  test reading for first thing this morning (a little early).  Yesterday, we went at 9:00 to submit our I-600 supporting docs to the Embassy and begged for a visa appointment for this morning.  The gentleman who received the docs was afraid he wouldn't be able to review the documents in time for an appointment today but indeed he did.  We went to the Dr's office at 7:45 this morning for the nurse to check the TB test and then off to the Embassy.  We now are waiting for our 11:00 appointment to pick up the visa!!!  Still not believing it's real!  We will be going home tomorrow morning with our little Nola at last!  Praise the Lord!  Thanks to all who have prayed for us over the years and especially these last few days.  Honestly, it was nothing short of a miracle that we were able to get everything completed and in the correct order in these 3 days. 

She Is Legally Our Daughter!!

I am officially a mother of six!  Our case has been approved in Family Court and we received a copy of the judges ruling that shows Nola with our last name!  Now we wait for the certified copies of the ruling one of which will be needed to submit for a new birth certificate which will show our names as her parents.  Hopefully the paper work will be submitted this week and once we have the birth certificate we will be making travel plans!!

Still pinching myself!!

Nola is pointing at a plane, telling me she is going to ride on a plane to the United States. 

It won't be long now sweets!

One Step Closer.......

Heart beats fast

Colors and promises

How to be brave

How can I love when I'm afraid to fall

But watching you stand alone

All of my doubt

Suddenly goes away somehow

One step closer

I have died everyday waiting for you

Darlin' don't be afraid

I have loved you for a thousand years

I'll love you for a thousand more

 

Time stands still

Beauty in all she is

I will be brave

I will not let anything take away

What's standing in front of me

Every breath

Every hour has come to this

 

One step closer!!

 

Yesterday our file was submitted to Family Court!!

 

The lyrics to "A Thousand Years" keep running through my head so I decided to open this post with some of them.  We are definitely

 "One Step Closer"!!!!

I can't believe that three weeks have gone by so quickly!  Today we take Nola back to the hogar where we will celebrate her 6th birthday with a cake, pinata and treat bags for her friends.  Then we have to say good-bye to her for now.  We fly out in the morning at 6am.  Hopefully we'll be hearing soon that our file has been approved by CNA and we can move on to Family Court.  Praying for a quick process from here on out!

Our Empathy Time

I still can't believe it but we have been here in Guatemala since Saturday, April 27.  We visited with Nola for a couple of hours on Saturday and then again on Sunday and on Monday, she came to stay with us.  The director of her hogar and his wife did a wonderful job of preparing her for our visit and she has been completely at ease with us.  We spent our first few days at our favorite hotel, La Casa Grande.  It was so good to see Gloria again as well as the rest of the staff there.  We are currently at the Grand Tikal Futura.  It's a bit fancy for my taste but the girls love the pool here.  I'm wishing I had worked harder on my Spanish but we're getting along pretty well.  I usually can get the main idea of what she's telling me and she is helping me out when I need it.  Mark is going to be here with us until the 11th and Maria and I will stay until the 19th.  We're meeting with our lawyer on Monday and will be going over what to expect for the rest of the process.  I'm wishing the rest of the process included Nola coming home with us when we leave on the 19th but unfortunately, that's not going to happen.  For now, we're enjoying every minute and praying our case speeds through the process and our little girl will be home with us this summer.



 

Our first meeting together on Saturday

Walking to the park

 

Loving her Papa when she said she was tired and he picked her up

 

Two sisters enjoying each other's company

  

Family Album

Nola's hogar director e-mailed early in the week and asked for pictures of the family.  I looked through recent pics and sent several.  On Thursday, we received an e-mail titled "Family Album".  I opened it to find the sweetest surprise.  The message said that Nola is so excited about her new family!  There were also pictures of her sitting on the floor making a family album.  The director said she has shown the album to everyone.

 

We have been so blessed to have our little girl placed in a home where she is loved.  The director and his wife are doing their best to see that Nola's transition from their family to ours will be as smooth as possible.  Thank you Lord!!

We're Getting Closer!!

Last week we received our Empathy notification!  After several messages back and forth, we have our Empathy time scheduled.  We leave Saturday, April 27.  We plan to go to the hogar on Saturday afternoon for a visit with Nola and again on Sunday before we meet at the CNA on Monday morning where Nola will then be able to come with us to stay for a supervised two weeks.  Mark will have to go home after that but Maria and I will stay for another week.  After the two week period, the Social worker who interviews us will write a report and present it to the head of CNA for a formal approval.  That process should take about a week and a half and then the case will proceed to a family court. The family court time frame is the most uncertain.  Some families have had approval after about a week and some have had to wait closer to eight weeks.  For now my focus is on Nola and the time we will get to spend with her and finally get to know her.  We have missed out on so much and we'll never get that time back but we know we are one of the fortunate families.  Our daughter's coming home.  So many families have heard the news that their child will never come home to them.  I can't imagine the pain.  We're going to cherish every minute we have with our little girl during our visit and when we get home, we'll be waiting not so patiently for the day when we get to go back and bring her home with us and finally be all together as a family.
Thank you all for your prayers and please continue praying for the families who are still waiting to hear news on their cases.  This has been a long 5 and 1/2 years but some families have waited even longer.  I pray that all of the families waiting will be united with the child they love.

My Morning Nature Watch

 In an effort to keep myself occupied during this insane wait, I've opted to spend some time (that I don't really have to spend) enjoying nature.....one of my favorite mental diversions.  There is a nest of Eagles not far from our house.  If you commonly see these majestic birds where you live you should consider yourself blessed.  Until recently, a bald eagle sighting around here was very rare.  I still stare in amazement when I catch a glimpse of one.  I'm hoping to rent a good telephoto lens and get some better pics before the trees leaf out but here's one from this morning.  It's pretty grainy since it's zoomed in quite a bit but still such a beautiful site!

Happy Birthday Maria!

9 years old!  Wow!  Where has the time gone?  We celebrated with family yesterday.  The birthday girl took it easy on me this year.  She just wanted a cake that looked like the beach!  The only way it could have been any easier is if she had asked for a white cake with white icing and no decorations.  I borrowed Alison's bundt castle pan, colored some icing blue, made some fondant shells and some toothpick and colored paper flags and voila!

Happy Birthday Maria!!

We love you sweetheart!!

Whoopin' it up here in Indiana!

We have moved another step closer in our journey to Nola.  This morning, our packet of documents was delivered to CNA.  We were told by our contact at the Embassy in Guatemala that they will notify us if any additional paper work is requested or if anything we submitted doesn't meet the standards of CNA and needs to be reworked.  I was hoping "previos" were something we left behind in PGN but is sounds like we can still get them in CNA.  Hopefully, everything will be accepted as is and the next thing we hear from them will be our invitation to come down for Empathy.  Only positive thoughts here!!  What a wonderful feeling to be moving forward!!

Feels Like Old Times

There was a time.......back in the beginning........not the beginning of my life but the beginning of my blogging.  There was a time when we documented everything.  We celebrated each small step in the forward process of this adoption.  Over the past 4 years at least, there weren't really any events to celebrate.  But today, we had one.  It was, again, just a little step but it felt HUGE!  Today I mailed our packet of required documents to Guatemala for translation.  Our dear angel Mayra works with a translator who will be preparing the documents and then submitting them to the USCIS office in Guatemala City.  What a wonderful feeling!  Waiting.........waiting is never easy but at least now we are waiting on a process.......a process with actual steps............and yes, we will celebrate every one!

We Received An Early Christmas Present!

On Friday December 14th, while everyone was reeling in disbelief over what happened in CT, we received a phone call that brought more tears to my eyes.............happy tears!  A USCIS staff person called us to tell us that they received the referral information from CNA for our case and we are ready to begin processing under the new Acuerdo!  I couldn't believe what I was hearing!  My mind immediately started running through the list of things that need to be done..............our Spanish............first on the list is improving our Spanish!  We've had 5 years and here we are........not very proficient in her native language!  That phone call didn't include any kind of time line that we can expect to follow but knowing our little girl will be coming home is enough for now and knowing I still have some time to get my Spanish skills whipped into shape is not a bad thing.

We also found out where Nola is living.  When we went to Guatemala a few weeks ago with the Bags of Blessings for the children at Hogar Solidario, I was devastated to find that Nola wasn't there.  The house moms told us she was with a family.  They made sure I understood that the family wasn't adopting her but that didn't make much sense to me.  When we returned home, I sent a message to my USCIS contact letting her know that Nola wasn't at the home and asked if they could find out where she was.  When they received the referral information, it contained the name of the hogar where Nola is currently living so they gave us that information.  It's a small private Christian home called Hope For Tomorrow.  They have several pictures of Nola on their site (although they refer to her as "Mary"?).  She looks healthy and happy!  According to her bio, she was adopted by a Guatemalan family in January but two months later, the family decided they couldn't keep her so she was taken to the Hope hogar.  It's amazing the path her little life has taken but it has finally lead her back to us.  God has had His hand in it all along.  I believe it's been His plan for her to come home to us and I know He was protecting my heart by not letting me find out about the national adoption until after it was disrupted.  I can't imagine how I would have dealt with that!

Hopefully as soon as the Holiday's are over, we'll get our documents translated and delivered so we can again begin waiting.  The next step will be the Empathy Study which will be a supervised one week visit with Nola.  We're hoping to get that scheduled about 8 weeks after the CNA receives our documents but they will contact us when they're ready for us to come.

It has been a long five years full of doubts and fears and anger and frustration but last Friday, all of that changed!  Our little girl's coming home!  No, we don't know when, but she IS coming home!

Thank you all for your prayers and please continue lifting up all of the waiting families.  We've become a very close group and there are still so many who are waiting for their turn to receive good news.  I'm praying their turns come very soon!     

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Our clan minus two.  Geri's youngest, Jillian, wasn't able to be here and Luis' youngest, Laura, wasn't feeling too photogenic.  What a wonderful time to be together and count all of our blessings!!

 

 

Best News We've Gotten In A Long Time!!!

We received an e-mail from Kristen Smith yesterday:

Dear Ms. Lane,

We are happy to inform you that last week CNA confirmed that your case is ready to move forward under the Acuerdo process. We hope to receive their referral very soon.

Please let us know if you have any questions/concerns.

Sincerely,

Adoption Unit

USCIS Guatemala Field Office

Guatemala City

 

I almost couldn't believe what I was reading!!  After years of waiting, she is actually going to get to come home!  We still have a good bit of wait ahead of us but our prayers have been answered!  Once the USCIS office in Guat City receives the referral letter, we will submit our new paper work and wait for an invitation to come down for the empathy study (one week of supervised visitation with Nola).  Following the approval of that process, the case is submitted to a Family Court.  Not sure how long that may take for approval but I am more than willing to wait and find out.

 

We so appreciate the prayers that have been offered up on behalf of Nola and our family!  Please continue to keep all of the waiting children and families in your prayers.  This is an unbelievably difficult process and it won't be over until every child is home with their forever family

Now, an even bigger BIT of news!!

Yesterday we received a message from Kelley at USCIS.  She wrote to say they had received a message from CNA.  CNA stated that they had received the letter from us, via the US Embassy, that documented the dates of our visits along with pictures.  They said that the empathy period in this case with the domestic family had failed and that, as a result, they would be willing to re-consider the new evidence from the U.S. PAPs.  It can't get any better than that...........well....it can.......but for now, this is great!!  Basically, what they are saying is that they tried to place Nola with a Guatemalan family and that placement failed so they will now reconsider us.  It's not a "yes your case can proceed" statement but the next best thing!  The CNA Board is still debating the issue and until we hear a definite "YES" I won't be resting.  Thank you all so much for your prayers up to now and please keep them coming.  We are getting closer!  Praise the Lord!!

Little Bits of News

On Friday, I received two e-mails, one from USCIS and one from the US Embassy in Guatemala.  Kelley from USCIS just let me know that there hasn't been a decision made yet.  She also wanted to inform me of a meeting they were going to have with CNA today to discuss our case and cases like ours who the CNA say have no bond with their child.

The message from the Embassy was more uplifting.  We were told to write a letter to CNA documenting our visits with dates and pictures.  The Embassy will deliver the letter and support our appeal of the CNA decision.  I was up until 2am copying the information from all of our visits (13 total) and adding pictures for nearly every one.  There were some visits that I wasn't able to get pictures because I wasn't allowed but I still have the stamp in my passport to prove I was there.  When I was finished I had 8 pages!  Far too large a file to send as one attachment.  I had to divide it into three files.  I just received confirmation from the Embassy that they received all three sections.  The official said she would send the letter to CNA immediately but I would imagine there would have to be some translating done first.  Anyway, I'm resting easier since I have that job done.  Now, I only need to print out the letter and send a hard copy to the Embassy for them to keep in our file. 

***Update***

I received a message from the Embassy around 6:30 letting us know our letter had been delivered to CNA.  The Director said our case would be reviewed and they would let the Embassy know if there is a possibility for our case to continue.

I'm praying specifically for the Board of Directors at the CNA to recognize the love we have for Nola.  I hope they can see our determination to bring her home hasn't diminished at all over the last five years.  I'm asking that they honor the bond we have established with our little girl and allow our case to proceed.  Please join me in that prayer!

I'll keep you all posted.

Not the call we wanted!

I received a call yesterday evening that knocked the wind out of me.  Kelley Miller from USCIS called to let me know that they were contacted by the Guatemalan Government and told that Nola's case doesn't meet the requirements to continue.  There are two basic requirements 1.  a certificate of Adoptability has been issued (and there has been one) and 2.  a bond has been established between the child and parents.  The CNA showed Nola a picture of me and Mark and she couldn't identify us as her mommy and daddy so they have declared there is no bond.  The USCIS was told Nola would be adopted domestically if she hasn't been already.  Kelley wasn't sure if Nola has been placed with a family already or not.  The entire time I was listening, I just couldn't believe what I was hearing!  If the 13 trips we've made to Guatemala since beginning our adoption doesn't establish bond I really don't know what does!  Kelley wrote down all the information I gave her and will be attending a meeting on Monday at noon to try and plead our case.  She told me not to get my hopes up but that she would do all she can to help us.
We could use your prayers.  I'm praying that God will give Kelley the right words to say and those who hear the words will be open and understanding.  Kelley assured me she would call and let me know how the meeting went and when I hear from her, I'll post.

In Case Anyone's Wondering.......

Yes we are still alive and kickin'!  I blogged several weeks ago and was going to post when I had finished downloading some pictures.  During that time I read and reread it while it was hanging out in draft land.  I decided the words were just too depressing.  There is one thing I can say for sure, this blog has been a good therapist.  It lets me vent and never charges me a cent!  I actually have several posts that never made it out of draft land but they all  have helped me by allowing me a place to leave my anger and sadness and move on to finding my joy again.  So, with that said, I'm sincerely going to try and make this a family journal until it one day again becomes our place to post adoption news.       

 Just for the record, there is no news on our case but there are some cases moving.  One family brought their daughter home this week.  Several cases have begun snailing their way through the new Acuerdo process with CNA.  I'm praying it's just a matter of time before we get the notification that our case is ready to proceed.

Sooooo, now for catching up.  We had a wonderful get away over the summer at our favorite vacation spot, Anna Maria Island FL.  Of course, the week went by much too fast for me.  I'm never ready to leave there.

Some people say "if you've seen one sunset, you've seen 'em all"  but I strongly disagree.  I never get tired of sunsets on the Gulf!

Joshua (our oldest) with Alison and Audree

Crazy Kyle trying to get Audree to smile so Erin can get a pic

Kels and Maria.  Typical sisters, one minute their all smiles and the next, their pulling each other's hair out!

So glad Daddy got to go with us!  He is the shark tooth finding champion!  It took him a few days to get his eyes pealed but he came through!

 

 For some reason, Maria's first day of school picture will only post side ways so it's not going to make it in this post.  She's been back in school for almost three weeks now.  Long enough that the newness has worn off and she is back to her old ways.........sleeping until the last possible second and then turning her mother into a ranting raging crazy woman trying to get her to school on time!  I'm already ready for a vacation! 

 

The bathroom is coming right along.  So close to being done.  And it's just beautiful! 

The lighting's not good in this picture but you can get the general idea of the bathroom.  The back part of the room with the window is where the claw foot tub will be.  It arrived this week so hopefully it will be installed soon.

 

While Mark and I are finishing the bathroom, there is a lot of other work going on around the house.  Two weeks ago, carpenters began work on our new family room.  So far, the weather has cooperated and they are really moving along.  Today they framed the second dormer in the roof and will probably have the roof sheeted before they go home.  I'm hoping it will all be closed in before Isaac rolls through this area.  Local weather guys are predicting up to 5" of rain here.  Nothing like making up for the majority of our deficit in one week end!

 

Closing for now but continue to keep the children, waiting to come home to their forever families and the families who wait for them in your prayers.  The helpless feeling in waiting is so difficult but we are not giving up!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BEST DAY EVER!!!!

And what a day it was! Maria had such a wonderful time! Her 8th birthday party was a success and I don't believe she could have had more fun.

After much thought, she decided on a Tangled party theme again for this year. We made invitations and invited her first grade class plus some extra special friends who don't go to her school. We had the party in the ministry center at church and rented inflatables for the kids to play in and on. They all had such a good time!

We took a break for craft time. My sister came up with the idea of making satchels (in honor of Flynn Rider). After the satchels were finished we had a scavenger hunt for gold covered chocolate coins and golden wrapped bubble gum. The satchels were adorable and the kids loved making them (and filling them with yummy loot).

They used their satchels to carry their pinata stash too! Those bags came in very handy!

Next, the pizza came. We had to keep up our strength with all that bouncing and sliding ;) and then of course, cake and ice cream. To top it all off, we had to send the kids home with a little more sugar. The cotton candy machine was a big hit and everyone took a bag home.

Such a great birthday party! It was wonderful to see the kids have so much fun! There were some adults who enjoyed themselves too!!

Happy 8th birthday Maria! We love you sweetheart!

Thanks to all who helped, especially my big guys who loaded the inflatables back into the trucks when it was all over.

A party fit for a Princess!!